Mitsubishi scoffs at Renault holding firm

Outgoing Mitsubishi CEO Osamu Masuko will remain chairman of the Japanese automaker.

TOKYO — Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is locking arms with Japanese ally Nissan Motor Co. against any plan to fold the Japanese duo into a holding company with their global alliance partner Renault.

Mitsubishi CEO Osamu Masuko said the paramount priority for the group should be independence and mutual respect, and maintaining that balance would be difficult under a holding party.

"I don't even consider it as one of the options," the Mitsubishi chief said Feb. 1 in Tokyo as the automaker reported its quarterly earnings. "I think it would be difficult to have management on an equal footing under such a structure."

Masuko's sentiments echo comments from Nissan, which took a controlling stake in Mitsubishi in 2016 under the direction of Nissan's then-leader, Carlos Ghosn, to bring the smaller automaker into the Renault-led Franco-Japanese alliance.

Masuko's remarks came in reaction to comments by Ghosn last week. From the Tokyo jail where he has been held since Nov. 19, Ghosn said he had been planning to merge Mitsubishi, Nissan and Renault in a way that ensured "autonomy under one holding company."

Ghosn told Japan's Nikkei newspaper that he had discussed that plan with Hiroto Saikawa, his successor as Nissan CEO, in September and that it spurred a backlash against Ghosn.

Two months later, Tokyo police arrested Ghosn inside his plane at Tokyo's Haneda airport and charged him with financial misconduct at Nissan. Ghosn said the prosecution was part of plot to remove him and block the deeper corporate tie-up.

Masuko said he hadn't directly heard about any plan for a holding company.

"Saikawa personally heard about it, but I wasn't told about the idea of a holding company myself," Masuko said last week. "I didn't hear about it at all, and thus haven't given any consideration to it."

He seemed skeptical that the idea would work.

"I need to consider if that would be acceptable to our employees," he said. "I wonder if it would be possible to ensure a spirit of equal partnership and management on an equal footing."

Complicated web

For his part, Saikawa has repeatedly said now is not the time to discuss any change to the complicated web of cross-holdings that stitch the automakers together. Renault has a controlling 43.4 percent stake in Nissan. Nissan has a 15 percent stake in Renault with no voting rights. Nissan has a 34 percent stake in Mitsubishi. But Renault and Mitsubishi have no cross-holdings.

Masuko made his comments one day after an alliance top management meeting in Amsterdam, the home base for the Alliance entity that formally oversees the group. Saikawa traveled there to meet Renault CEO Thierry Bollore and Renault's newly appointed Chairman Jean- Dominique Senard, who was recruited from Michelin.

Masuko attended the meetings by video conference.

Ghosn once ran these regular alliance operational meetings as chairman of all three companies and the alliance entity to boot. But after his arrest, removal as chairman at Nissan and Mitsubishi, and subsequent resignation from Renault, the companies have agreed to share leadership.

"We said we will make decisions based on consensus," Masuko said.

But Masuko said there is also a risk in getting bogged down without a strong, central figure. "We have to avoid slowing down the decision-making," he said. "We don't want any negative impact."

On the up side: The decentralized approach can create a strong corporate organization that fosters success, without relying solely on the talents or leadership of one linchpin person.

"Sooner or later, people have to retire," Masuko said, in an oblique reference to Ghosn. "We should not have to depend on one person. We should have a good organization."

Step back

In another veiled swipe at Ghosn and his hard-charging approach to sales and profit targets, Masuko said Mitsubishi needs to step back and pursue more sustainable growth.

"I think we need to accept diversity even in how corporate management is done," Masuko said. "Everyone is trying to speed up, talking about growth and growth. That has put too much stress in various areas, which in turn has resulted in corporate scandals."